The love for this book is everywhere. Every bookish app I sign into has quite a few people talking about how much they love it. Bookstagram, Book Tok, Goodreads – it’s all the same love and promises to read more rom-com’s (WHAT?! I read them all the time so this is SHOCKING to me! Ok just kidding – I know not everyone loves everything I do). Because of this, I couldn’t wait to give this one a try. Only…I didn’t love it outright like everyone else did. That tends to happen with books that everyone declares to be THE BEST EVER. I’m looking at you Where the Crawdads Sing!

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor–and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive’s career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding…six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Pulled In From the Start

Right away, I thought I was going to be one of many and declare this book to be the number 1 pick for 2021. It had an angle I had never read before in rom-com’s, with Olive being a scientist (yay women in STEM!) It was a witty, albeit weird meet cute to it in the first few pages, and I’m not talking about when Olive and Adam share their first kiss! The idea behind fake dating, when done right, can be fun to read about, so this whole plot line had me curious and excited to see where it would go next.

Sounds interesting, right? Yes, I was hooked right from the start as well.

But Then I Kept Reading…

What started as cute and quirky quickly became an annoying character trait. We find out that Olive always tells lies to avoid herself looking at the truth of her life. And I am talking about a LOT of lying. And it comes so naturally that THIS. IS. HER. This is who she is, and it’s not a character I can root for. Her self-doubt and insecurities became overwhelming towards the end. Yes, we all have those moments (some more than others), but it’s all based on the lies that she told. Had she just told the truth rather than being FORCED to tell the truth, would have made me appreciate her more.

There is also a side plot of who her roommate started dating that felt a little too convenient (don’t want to say anything more to avoid spoilers). And you can never tell a story without having a bad guy – this villain felt VERY real, and I liked the way the storyline played out. Sometimes authors will rush through that, especially at the end, but this time it was paced very well.

Should You Give This a Try?

Yes. Absolutely. So many people are enjoying it, I would love to hear what you think of it it! Let us know in the comments!